Fluid streams such as liquid flows and gaseous flows (e.g. air flows) often carry particulates that are often undesirable contaminants entrained in the fluid stream. Filters are commonly employed to remove some or all of the particulates from the fluid stream. Filtration vessels having one or more filters, often arranged in parallel circuit provide a known way to filter a high volume of fluid. Typically, a filtration vessel includes a filter support structure disposed within an outer housing, which may be adapted to provide radial and axial support to filter elements during operation.
Large filtration vessels currently known in the art are costly to manufacture and maintain due to the size of the components and their inaccessibility within the outer housing. When components in the filtration vessel are imperfectly manufactured, a sealing relationship between a filter element and the filtration vessel is difficult to maintain. This may result in contaminated fluid bypassing the filters. To attempt to avoid such bypass, often manufacturers will precisely machine holes in the solid and thick walled partition plate of such housings, but even with such additional machining operations, the machined holes can become damaged during prolonged use.
The invention provides improvements over the prior art relating to filtration vessels and methods for servicing the same. These and other advantages of the invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.